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The Hand Made Memories Album - another fairly hefty post so you might want to put the kettle on first....

7 April 2014

Again, apologies for a bit of blogging silence.

But again I have been packing in the creativity with a tight deadline so something had to give. Blogging v creating. Creating won!

And again ( too many agains, but bear with) said creativity has involved a Boneo box - but shhh - don't tell anyone since this is another present. Am I developing a Boneo obsession? Well as it is the lovely Chris Gray called me Boneo Bird when we met at the NEC. You decide ( though I suspect the next post won't have a Boneo theme, not least because the dog has moved onto Gravy Bones!)

You might want to grab another brew as another bit of a tutorial on how I did this one coming up. Settle down everyone. Are you sitting comfortably?

Right - I'll begin.

And in the beginning there was, yes, you've guessed! A Boneo Box!

And a page from my sketch book.

Back to the boxes - in fact there were 3 boxes and I covered them all at the same time.

Brown paper and PVA glue (spread the glue all over the paper - I used an old credit card - and then smooth it down with your hand. You might have a few wrinkles, but that is not the end of the world).

Then, small calico squares (backed with Bondaweb and ironed on to the covers).

Then I applied a coat of white acrylic paint to give me a decent background to work with. I could have used gesso, but the gesso I have has a certain grainy texture which I didn't want. I also did not want to get involved with any sanding between coats. So a white heavy body acrylic works just fine. (I used Daler Rowney)

I have no idea who the retailer was who had this stamp. It was all a bit chaotic. They were in the Hobbycraft gallery, rather than the textiles one.

(Sorry about the colour changes here - some photos were taken in daylight and some under artificial light).

Next up a bit of coloured grunge paste.

And the stencil I cut for the last 'Book' I made.

Then I added some detail to the leaves with silver acrylic and a Pistachio green from the Fresco Finish range.

Then I cut out tiny silver foil leaves - it's the silver side I wanted.

And a button/ribbon combo to the front.

I should say that the silver leaves were stuck with matt medium and the whole cover was given a good coating of matt medium. It makes everything feel finished and gives a good finish.

Then I turned to the pages and tags.

I used rag paper for the pages and the same paints as before.

I added pockets to some of the pages.

Then I bound the pages. I had 8 pages and 4 signatures.

I wanted a different binding to the previous book, which had very loose bound pages so the recipient could, if wanted, actually slip a page out.

I actually did quite a bit of research into page binding techniques, before settling on this one which also uses ribbon. The book had much more stability with the ribbon - which is so pretty and girly. At this point I decided against beads.

Here are the book innards - looking a bit like a book (albeit a random book!)

And the book is a Christening present, for little Charlotte Rose (well, not so much her, but more of an album for her parents to record some happy moments. But drat! I forgot to take photos of the lovely day. Hope others did to stick in the book.)

And a recycled envelope for a pocket.

OK - so now I am getting very ambitious (and this is where I was having all sorts of technical difficulties - but as they say, live and learn) I made a little video of a flick through of the book. First of all I hope this technology works and second of all I hope you appreciate my droning on. Let me know what you think. I cannot promise to do loads of these unless I crack the technical difficulties, but I could try a few more if you like it.

As always, dear reader, thanks for dropping by and I do hope that your tea hasn't gone cold!

Julie - when you have time, can you have another go? I had somehow set the video to private! I think it is now 'public', and logic dictates that you should be able to see it, but because I could see it anyway it is difficult for me to be sure - it's all a bit of a mystery.

'Course you can come for tea! Earl Grey, PG tips, peppermint??? Hoping I have sorted the video now. But a bit tricky since I can see it, so working out by a process of deduction. Lordy, but this stuff is all a bit tricky! xx (ps do you like cake???)

Sheila - thanks for stopping by! No one can see the video - I presume you can't either. Hoping that I may have fixed it now.

Thanks for your kind comments.

I love working with these new paints. They are helpfully produced in colour families which gives a very good starting point to build depth of colour. I am not too hot about colour theory so this helps no end. I guess these paints I love so much are the British equivalent of Golden Fluid Acrylics.

Finally found a minute to watch the video - it is quite good for your first try and I not only enjoyed seeing the innards of the book that way but also hearing your voice. The video gives a much better idea of how pretty this book is - it would be fun to see how the recipient decides to fill it - as you say, hopefully with some pictures. Must look into that ribbon binding technique - really like that.

Welcome!

I'm Hilary, a textile and stitch enthusiast but with a day job that could not be further removed from the world of art and textiles. I enjoy writing my blog, recording my life outside of the day job, discovering my art and finding that work life balance - hence the title of this blog. I hope you enjoy reading about these little adventures too.